How Birmingham’s population is set to swell by 2031

Birmingham City Council has revealed that the population of the city is due to increase significantly by 2031.

The announcement was made as the council unveiled its radical new transport plan which would see a dramatic reduction in the use of cars.

The city centre would become virtually car free and Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) would be introduced across a third of neighbourhoods.

The plans were greeted with some opposition from protesters at the Transport Summit held yesterday (Wednesday, April 26) - with LTNs proving controversial after they were introduced in Kings Heath previously.

While discussing the scheme Cllr Ian Ward, the Leader of the Council, said that Birmingham would become home to 50,000 more residents by 2031 - with potentially 80,000 more cars on the city roads, making 200,000 more daily trips.

“Birmingham has been known worldwide as the motor city, but we’re working hard to change that when we succeed, and we will have a happier, healthier and more successful city,” he added.

What is included in Birmingham City Council’s Transport Plan?

• Key aspects of the transport plan include:
• Cutting a third of city centre through traffic by 2030.
• Plans for reconfiguring the future use of the A38 tunnels.
• Rollout of 3,630 electric charging points.
• Reallocating road space while simultaneously “making private car travel less attractive”.
• Transforming the city centre by “de-trafficking” the city centre, providing free movement for public transport, pedestrians, and cyclists, but increasingly restricting movements by car.
• Low traffic conditions in 1/3 of council wards by 2030.
• Prioritising active travel in local neighbourhoods creating “calmer, cleaner, safer places for people” where local needs can be met without a car.
• Introducing the new phase of the Birmingham cycle revolution by 2024.

When are these plans due to be launched?

One such plan to enable the city centre to become largely traffic-free is the ‘Our Future City Plan’ will launch next month.

Mel Jones, head of transport planning at Birmingham city council, said: “The current transport plan works isn’t fit for purpose. It’s failed to meet the needs of its citizens and public transport services, it’s typically less viable.

“What needs to urgently and drastically change is decarbonising our transport. I’ve worked at the council for 22 years, and transport policy hasn’t really changed that much in terms of promoting sustainable travel. What needs to change is the scale as a delivery. We have to stop asking people nicely to change some of their travel some of the time we need fewer cars and we need it fast.”

Councillor Liz Clements, cabinet member for transport at Birmingham city council, said: “Birmingham is a fantastic place to live, work and visit but we need people to use sustainable modes of transport when travelling – public transport, walking and cycling. In short, we need far fewer cars on the road.

“As a city we have been far too reliant on private cars for far too long and we need to fundamentally change the way we move people and goods around the city.

“We must reallocate road space so that pedestrians, buses and bikes are prioritised and drastically reduce the number of journeys people make by car. We already have strong foundations to build on, so we can achieve our ambitious net zero carbon emissions target and have a cleaner, greener and healthier city.”